Applied Acoustics Chromaphone 2

Description

Applied Acoustics Chromaphone 2 is a synthesizer dedicated to the creation of acoustic instruments. It is based on the combination of acoustic resonators to create drums, percussion, string and hybrid synth-like instruments. Membranes, bars, marimbas, plates, strings, and tubes form pairs that are excited by a mallet and a flexible noise source. Access to different parameters such as the material of the resonators, their tuning and hit position allow for the creation of a vast range of realistic and creative instruments and sonic colors.

Chromaphone is entirely based on Applied Acoustics Systems (AAS) physical modeling technology and uses no sampling nor wave tables. Sound is produced by solving, on the fly, mathematical equations modeling the different types of resonators and how they interact. This elaborate synthesis engine responds dynamically to the control signals it receives while you play reproducing the richness and responsiveness of real acoustic instruments. Chromaphone features a brand-new coupling technology allowing an accurate description of the exchange of energy between the resonators resulting in rich and natural sounding tones.

Library

Chromaphone 2 is packed with more than 650 presets from the best sound designers. Instruments span from warm and mellow pitched percussions for melodies to punchy one-shots and kits for rhythm tracks. Twisted, they generate unique textures and soundscapes that will move any film score. Whether real, other-wordly, or with an ethnic touch, Chromaphone will fill your music with rich and organic tones.

Performance

Chromaphone 2 ships with premium performance features: unison, vibrato, and a complete set of MIDI features. And for even more action, Chromaphone provides a user programmable pattern arpeggiator and shortcuts to the high quality effects.

Edition

Modeling based synthesis gives you access to all source and resonator parameters. Customize instruments to perfectly fit your project or follow your inspiration and build entirely new ones for really creative and innovative sound design.

One-shot revolution

One-shots are no longer limited to the velocity dimension. Chromaphone uses the entire keyboard range to modulate volume, mallet noise and stiffness, noise filter frequency and density, hit position, and coupling to open a whole world of expressive sounds—and that in a totally stepless fashion.

Creative drum kits

Chromaphone ships with ready-made creative kit patches where each note provides a new sound slightly different from the previous one. Over the entire keyboard range the sound morphs from bass drum to snare to hi-hat. Discover a mixture of electronic and acoustic qualities intertwined to form highly playable, addictive, and always fresh drum sounds.

Performance

Chromaphone 2 will match your playing style or musical context with ease thanks to the tap tempo and sync to host clock options; up-to-4-voice unison; and the flexible vibrato.

Arpeggiator

Ready, willing, and able, Chromaphone 2’s arpeggiator offers various syncing resolutions, playing algorithms, and rhythmic patterns that will spruce up any chord progressions into percolating melodies or pulsing sequences.

Resonate

Instruments are created by combining acoustic resonators. A wooden bar makes a xylophone, turned metallic it becomes a glockenspiel. Adding a tube transforms it into a vibraphone or marimba. Plates shape up in bells and cymbals. A drumhead combined with a cylinder becomes a bass drum, snare, conga or bongo. Mix and match strings, plates, drumheads, membranes, beams, bars, and tubes to reproduce real-life instruments or create original ones.

Perfect couples

Chromaphone is the first synthesizer that takes into account the effect of coupling between resonators. Bringing together acoustic objects, for exemple the string and soundboard at the bridge of a guitar, changes the way each of them vibrates. A proprietary technology models precisely how objects interact and exchange energy thereby capturing key acoustic behaviours of musical instruments and resulting in sounds that have a real-life presence.

The perfect stroke

Shape the attack with the Mallet module which provides the triggering impact. Use the Amplitude and Stiffness controls to craft different type of sticks, mallets, and beaters, and the Noise parameter to bring texture to the hit. All can be modulated by keyboard velocity and pitch to provide great playing dynamics.

Get noisy

Sustain is provided by a flexible noise source. An envelope generator and filters provide tailored excitation to complement impacts from the mallet. A density parameter controls the rate at which noise samples interact with the resonators from random individual particule-like hits to a fully continuous flow. Loud or quiet, bursting or evolving, dense or porous, broadband or filtered, this noise source is the key to unusual and creative effects.

Features:

Factory library: The completely renewed factory library has well over 600 production-ready sounds classified for fast and intuitive exploration

Drumhead resonator: This new model reproduces precisely how a real drumhead vibrates resulting in super realistic and responsive drums and percussions

Envelope mode: The envelope generator for the noise source is now equipped with an AHD mode for carving precise one-shots

Noise filter bank: The noise source spectrum can now be tailored with a 10-band filter bank for fine control of the tone

Low-cut filter: Resonators have been complemented with a low-cut filter to control the clarity of an instrument response

Arpeggiator: Add motion and give a new perspective to sounds with the new built-in arpeggiator module.

Source mixer: Fine control of the mallet and noise sources to shape the attack and sustain phase of sounds with precision

Compressor and equalizer: These new additions are perfect to add punch and definition to your sound, letting you cut through any dense mix or stage

Limiter: The new output limiter protects your ears and monitors during experimentation with the synth’s parameters while providing a maximum of distortion-free dynamics

Streamlined interface: Redesigned from the ground up, the new interface now divides Chromaphone 2 into three panels: Play presents shortcuts to the performance and effect parameters including bypass switches for quick edits; Edit lets you tweak and create your sound; while FX supplies equalizer, compressor, multi-effect, and reverb processors for a final sheen